by Anjali Verma ’20

 Immigration policies have been in the news for years but many teens became more aware of these situations when popular rapper 21 Savage was arrested in late January by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). ICE stated that he was in this country illegally and claims that he is eligible for deportation. 21 Savage’s legal defense team argues that he has been in the United States for 20 years and currently has a visa application pending. However, as of February 12, he has been released on bond.

 This news caused Twitter users to dig deeper into what is the real story. 21 Savage was born She’yaa Bin Abraham-Joseph in 1992 in England. He is reported to have came to the United States at age 7 and stayed here ever since, excluding a one-month period in 2005. After that, he entered the country under a H-4 visa which then expired in 2006. 21 Savage has had no legal status since then.

 Social media users quickly took this story and spun it into many Twitter memes. These memes included a variety of topics including references to 21 Savage’s lyrics, the queen of England, Harry Potter, and many British stereotypes.

 Some responses on social media were upset about the joking of the situation because immigration is a serious issue. They argued that these jokes were adding to the political divisiveness over legal and illegal immigration